Title: Field data analysis of occupant injury during rollover crashes

Authors: Jingwen Hu, King H. Yang, Clifford C. Chou, Roger J. Chen, Albert I. King

Addresses: Bioengineering Center, Wayne State University, 818 W. Hancock, Detroit, MI 48201, USA. ' Bioengineering Center, Wayne State University, 818 W. Hancock, Detroit, MI 48201, USA. ' Ford Motor Company, MD 2115, RIC 2004 Village Road, Dearborn, MI 48126, USA. ' Ford Motor Company, MD 2115, RIC 2004 Village Road, Dearborn, MI 48126, USA. ' Bioengineering Center, Wayne State University, 818 W. Hancock, Detroit, MI 48201, USA

Abstract: Some researchers have found a general correlation between vehicle roof deformation and occupant injury by using field accident data. However, this correlation does not represent causality, because both roof deformation and occupant injury are related to impact severity. To examine the relationship between roof deformation and injuries, this study compared the injury odds with and without roof deformation under different levels of impact severities using single-vehicle rollover crash data from the NASS-CDS database. The results demonstrated that the number of potential roof-to-ground impacts was an indicator of rollover severity, there was no clear correlation between injury odds and roof deformation under similar impact severity, and there was no clear correlation between ejection odds and roof deformation for unbelted occupants under similar impact severity. The results also showed that the injury odds for females were double those for males, and there was a strong correlation between age and injury odds.

Keywords: field data analysis; occupant injury; rollover crashes; injury mechanisms; NASS database; roof deformation; vehicle safety; impact severity; single vehicle crashes; injury odds.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVS.2007.015543

International Journal of Vehicle Safety, 2007 Vol.2 No.3, pp.261 - 277

Published online: 26 Oct 2007 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article